Actress Garcelle Beauvais Talks Dating Black Men & Past Marriages

Most people know that actress Garcelle Beauvais is the proud mom of 5-year-old twin boys that she had with her cheating ex-husband Mike Nilon, but what many don’t know is that she also has a 21-year-old son, Oliver, from her first marriage. She recently caught up with the Haitian-American magazine, ‘Kreyolicious’ for a sit-down interview revolving around her two marriages and she revealed that just because she’s stepped outside of her race once or twice, doesn’t mean that she’s closed off to dating black men completely.

She also admitted that she never saw her mom in a relationship with a man because she was always working so that affects how she wants to raise her kids, and shares a bit of love and marriage advice for the ladies:

On Dating Outside of Her Race
I’ve always been open to dating black men. Oliver’s dad is black. I’m not opposed to it. It’s that the right people have to approach me. I love who loves me; I love who comes to me. I’m accessible to everybody. I’m receptive to everybody. I can’t just go out and look for only one type of man. Life is tough enough. I love who loves me; who approaches me.

On Her Relationship With her oldest son Oliver
We have a great relationship. He’s a young man who’s trying to find his way. He tells me everything, to a fault. [Laughs]

On Her Mother Being Single Her Whole Life & How That Effected Her
I definitely learned strength from her. Being a strong Haitian woman. Having integrity. My mom was working—she was trying to take care of us. And I just feel like I didn’t see a working relationship between a man and a woman. So that’s what I aspire to do with my kids.[…]I loved my mom. We got along great. I’m saying in terms, of seeing her as a role model with a man in a healthy relationship.[…]I think everything a parent does affects us. It’s the way we do things. We’re all on our journey. I try to figure it all out. Doing a lot of self-work. Figuring out myself so that I can have a wonderful, healthy relationship with a man. That’s what I’m saying.

Advice For The Ladies on Love, Relationships, & Marriage
First of all, I would say, be true to you. I don’t think you should have to give up part of you just to be with somebody else. I think it’s important if you can start with self-love. Loving yourself, you will not allow other people to hurt you unnecessarily. Love yourself. Have boundaries for yourself [so] that you won’t let anybody hurt you. I think that it’s also finding a good person, who has the same morals, the same goals with you. Relationships are tough no matter what. If you have somebody who has a lot in common with you, that’s half the battle. Obviously, I don’t know. I have two divorces. I’m not an expert. I think self-love is where you can start off with.

Although her two marriages didn’t work out, she was blessed with some adorable boys.

Spanish meaning latino or hispanic. Don’t play dumb and change the topic at hand.

I’m with Garcelle in re: “I love who loves me; who approaches me” because my type doesn’t have a look. An attractive man is an attractive man to me. The only thing my ex’s have in common is me & their character

+23 LaLa Reply:September 5th, 2012 at 2:58 pm

I hate when people use Spanish to describe Latinos or Hispanics. That’s incorrect. Even those from Spain don’t usually refer to themselves as Spanish. They tend to use Spaniards.

+8 Flo Jo Reply:September 5th, 2012 at 3:38 pm

Also many Hispanics or Latino’s are biracial or multiracial and her son’s are biracial. What sents them apart is culture. Latino or Hispanic is mainly referring to culture rather than race. Lol I hope what I wrote made sense. Well regardless all her sons are handsome and I hope they grow up to be great men with integrity.

+2 BlancaLatino Reply:September 5th, 2012 at 6:43 pm

Neither of those boys look Spanish they look biracial. Spanish people are white.

LOL… She is haitian not spanish.. Haitians are of African Heritage… Haiti was conquered by the french . They speak creole french… there is no Latin in the kids… they are half black and half white.. they are fraternal twins .. so they are just like regular siblings as far as looks.. they are going to look different … but they both look biracial and have obvious signs of both heritage !!!!!!
BTW not all spanish people are white …. There are lot of Latin folks that have african blood in them do to the triangle trade … I am kinda wondering why you all do not know this… this is apart of World and American history… nevertheless it is all in love… her kids are gorgeous… and love knows no color

I FEEL YOU! MAYBE SHE IS SAYING THAT BLACK MEN DON’T NORMALLY APPROACH HER EVEN THOUGH SHE IS RECEPTIVE AND OPEN TO THEM. THAT WOULDN’T BE HARD TO BELIEVE IF SHE LIVE IN CALIFORNIA BECAUSE THEM NINJAS OUT THERE THINK THEY ARE ENTITLED TO BE WITH BLACK/HISPANIC/ASIAN WOMEN. iN L.A. IT IS AN EPIDEMIC. YOU CAN BE A BLACK WOMAN DOCTOR WITH YOUR OWN TWO-STORY HOME AND C-CLASS MERCEDES AND YOU MAY STILL LOSE MEN TO SOME BUSTED BECKEY WITH HER BOOBS HANGING OUT AND BLEACH BLONDE EXTENSIONS.

TERRELL OWENS A GOOD CELEB EXAMPLE. HE KICKED SUPERMODEL JESSICA WHITE TO THE CURB FOR THAT NO GOOD, MONEY-GRUBBING BARTENDING BECKY! NOW JESSICA CELIBATE BECAUSE THESE NINJAS DON’T APPRECIATE HER.

I wonder how the oldest boy feels about being a big brother and if has a close relationship to the young ones.

As far as her dating white guys…look at the industry she’s in…she’s bound to be approached by all types of men and at that point you’re gonna make the best choice based on a lot of factors of which race may not be one.

I LOVE that she spoke about self love, so many of us Black women really don’t love ourselves! I mean yes we like to look good, we like attention from others, we think highly of ourselves in a superficial way but we DO NOT have boundaries with it comes to our men. I’ve been a victim of it myself, but I’ve seen girls way worse (with kids) who just allow their baby fathers to come in and out of their lives JUST BECAUSE they have a child with him then they get mad at his new girlfriend/chick because they didn’t protect themselves and draw a line in the sand. Before you can be in a relationship with someone and you’re bending over backwards for them, trying to make THEM happy and satisfied ask yourself are you happy and satisfied as well

Definitely! If you don’t have the same beliefs it is MOST definitely not going to work at all, you guys will never be on the same page and be able to compromise effectively

+9 HELP ME Reply:September 5th, 2012 at 2:47 pm

I keep it 100% I so agree with you, I just ended a 5year relationship with a man , excuse me BOY…Who I actually thought was going to one day be my husband. It took me a while to realize that I can do so much better. Not only is he a mamas boy, he is a baby daddy. I had no problem with the child, but the mother is what had me thinking this relationship isn’t right for me. It hard to be in a relationship with someone when you feel like your the outsider, it’s hard to be in a relationship with someone who is looking for a woman who is like his mother. I didn’t even want to have children by him, so I knew I had to go.

I am not saying life or relationships will be better if you date outside of your race, I just feel you should leave yourself open to anything, black men are just not doing it for me, sometimes I wish I was a lesbian

@HELP ME omg! I am at the start of what you just shared! I am dating a guy that already has a child. I fear the whole baby mama drama and the feeling of being “the other woman”. No matter how much he might convince me he is truly over her and is only still connected to her because of their child I will always feel like she has something more with him because they have the have a child together! I dont feel “special” in a realtionship with a man who already has a kid :/ is that selfish? i dunno. I am getting older (I am 25) so maybe my likelihood of finding mr.right w/no kids is not likey at all. Its rare now a days to be in your mid 20s with no kids. *sigh* lol

+10 yeah okey Reply:September 5th, 2012 at 3:08 pm

You are dealing with human beings when dealing with relationships. Gay or not, it’s the person, not the sexuality. Do you think all gay people have blissful relationships? Nah

+3 Flo Jo Reply:September 5th, 2012 at 3:42 pm

I agree with @Yeah Okey. Also people keep bringing up race. The father of her youngest twin boys was white but guess what they still got a divorce. People are people and can be hard to deal with sometimes. Yes she dated and procreated with a white man and a black man but neither was the right one for her.

keepit100 Reply:September 6th, 2012 at 2:23 pm

OMGGGG @help me! I have been thru the same thing, its a shame that these cycles continue to keep happening. I dated a guy for four years who had a child and same situation me and his child have a great relationship but I cannot STAND the fact of feeling second to another woman (and its not like she’s the “erica” type of BM either) and I notice in the Black community the baby mother or mother of a man’s child is put on this pedestal where she can do no wrong and her opinion is placed on a higher standard and respected more than anyone else’s. That really sickens me and says alot about these men, they want to be babied (Scrappy) and have not grown up but are having kids with other immature and petty people = disatrous (sp) anyways hope you the best boo!

keepit100 Reply:September 6th, 2012 at 2:28 pm

@ Nicole I normally wouldn’t say this but trust me if you feel ANY type of gut feeling or indication or see any red flags of him having feelings for her..LEAVE! Leave now and live the rest of your life in peace, there is a reason why men sleep with her BMs and its not just “comfortability” emotions are still there and can/may take years to fully heal, on both sides. You don’t want to be that punching bag for the relationship, it will only wound you and if the relationship ends you’ll be very resentful. I’m 25 too and have already went through that, I just wish I had knew better. Trust me, you can and will find someone else if this relationship doesn’t pan out, I know it may seem like the end but its not!

Tyra'nt Reply:September 6th, 2012 at 5:13 pm

@nicole

All things are possible baby…keep your faith!

+1 Asea Reply:September 5th, 2012 at 3:07 pm

Exactly!!! I have fallen victim too and I finally woke the hell up lol. Me personally, I used to deny that my lack of certain boundaries had to do with my love for myself. I would get angry like “oh noooo honey I LOVE myself, my relationship patterns have nothing to do with THAT!!” LOL. But it’s so true…. and guess what, men who you kick to the curb for not acting right respect you SO MUCH MORE (and some even start stalking you lol) and BOYS who throw a fit and dissappear when you kick em to the curb really weren’t worth your time anyway

this is true, and yes girl we confuse egos with real self love all the time!

+1 shaniqua Reply:September 5th, 2012 at 7:22 pm

amen!!
to that, love God, love yourself, respect yourself then others. be happy yourself first so you can make somebody else happy. my ex was angry with himself – all the time therefore he was always angry at me for no reason

YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT PERSON LOVES YOU FOR YOU AND NOT WHAT YOU HAvE OR WHAT YOU REPRESENT. I THINK THAT WHITE HUSBAND OF HERS ONLY LOVED HER BECAUSE SHE WAS A WORKING ACTRESS AND ONCE THE CHECKS STOP COMING THEN HE GOT TO RUNNING TO EVERY OTHER CHICK HE COULD FIND. REMEMBER SHE PUT HIM ON BLAST AT HIS WORKPLACE. IT HAD TO BE REALLY BAD TO RESORT TO THAT BEHAVIOR. AND LOOK AT THE LOVELY STACEY DASH. SHE MESSED WITH THOSE WHITE MEN TOO. SHE HAD THAT SAME ATTITUDE ABOUT NOT HAVING BOUNDARIES WHEN IT CAME TO RACE BUT THE WHITE DUDES SHE CHOSE ALL DID HER WRONG. I’M NOT SAYING DON’T DATE OUTSIDE YOUR RACE BUT RATHER USE THE SAME CRITERIA YOU WOULD USE FOR BLACK MEN AND DON’T THINK THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE WHITE THEY ARE AUTOMATICALLY RIGHT. THIS IS THE MISTAKE BLACK MEN MAKE EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK WHEN IT COMES TO WOMEN.

I love all races…but my man (at this point in time) has to have melanin….thats just my preference….but I definitely don’t discriminate cuz I could meet someone that might change my mind….you have to keep your options open cuz Black Men surely keep their’s open : )

“…just because she’s stepped outside of her race once or twice, doesn’t mean that she’s closed off to dating black men completely.”

The word “completely” at the end of that sentence still implies, “mostly”. And the fact that her first son is %100 just illustrates that ‘before she switched teams’, like so many black men(as it’s often pointed out. O.J., etc…), she dated inside her race. But, ol’ girl ain’t messin with no brothers these days, believe it…

I don’t see how so many lay people have all this relationship advice when trained scientists and psychologists can’t figure out the human mind. People love regurgitating what someone else (who has an agenda) says that sounds good.

This woman says she doesn’t think women should have to give up part of them to be with someone else? Not saying it’s wrong advice, but her mom was a single mom and so is she. Does she really think she knows the answers?

Well she did also say she doesn’t have it figured out herself since she had 2 divorces. But she thinks it all starts with self-love. Finding someone that loves you as much as you love yourself. Give her a break!! Sheesh!!!

I have a strong dislike for the double standard game you need to be for I.r dating or against i.r dating stop playing the convinience game b/c I noticed on when it’s a b.w with a w.m y’all all for but let it be a b.m with a w.w y’all are so against it . And yes I’ve noticed because it isn’t one bad comment on here nor the Janet Jackson posts .but me I’ma stick to my own because you’re going to face the same problems .

stop. There isnt a double standard. Millions of Black women DO NOT prefer non black men.Black women are not leaving black men in droves for non black men. However black men are doing that to black women. Its more common to see a black man and a white woman than a black woman with a white man. So seeing a few black women step out isnt a big deal,they get a pat on the back because its not a epidemic or a real issue for black men. There are 3 million more BW than there is of BM,so no matter how many blsack ladies leave…BM will be alright.You’ll still get the top picks…the same cannot be said for BW. So a black woman dating outside of her race is mandatory and a non issue.

IT’S NOT THAT PEOPLE HATE SEEING BLACK MEN WITH WHITE WOMEN. ITS THAT PEOPLE HATE SEEING DECENT AND/OR SUCCESSFUL BLACK MEN WITH BOTTOM OF THE BARREL WHITE WOMEN. WE’RE TALKING THE KIND OF WHITE WOMEN THAT EVEN THE WHITE MEN DON’T WANT. YOU WILL ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT SOME BLACK MAN WIFING UP SOME BECKY FRESH OFF THE POLL OR SOMEBODY HE MET AT THE CLUB BUT WITH BLACK WOMEN WHO MARRY WHITE MEN, USUALLY THAT MAN IS EDUCATED AND HAS A GOOD JOB AND HIS OWN PAPER. BLACK WOMEN DON’T PICK UP RANDOM WHITE HOBOS AND HUSTLERS OFF THE STREET AND TURN THEM INTO HUSBANDS. BLACK MEN ON THE OTHER HAND MARRY THE NANNY, THE BARTENDER, THE STRIPPER, THEIR HOMEBOY’S SLOPPY SECONDS ETC. AND IF THE BECKY AINT A HO SHE MOST LIKELY FAT AND SLOPPY LOOKING LIKE CLARENCE THOMAS’ WIFE.

JLO SURELY HAD A BREAK DOWN WHEN BEN DUMPED HER. SHE HAD THAT ILLUSION OF INCLUSION AND WHEN SHE STARTED TALKING ABOUT BABIES THAT’S WHEN HE SAID NO MA’AM AND GOT HIM A WHITE JENNIFER AND COMMENCED TO BREEDING. REALLY, HE GOT WITH THE WHITE JENNIFER REALLY FAST. JLO WENT BACK HOME TO HER PUERTO RICAN ROOTS BUT EVENTUALLY DUMPED HIM. AFTER SHE GET FINISHED WITH THIS YOUNGSTER SHE WILL BE BACK ON THE PROWL FOR A WHITE PRINCE CHARMING. NEVER LIKED HER BEHIND NO PUN.

I like her. She’s beautiful and wise. What she said about relationships and dating was thoughtful and real. She didn’t shade anybody, and only those specifically LOOKING to disagree could find fault in what she said. This is her truth–doesn’t mean it has to be yours, but I like the way she said what she did. No patronizing or trying to be deep.

I love who loves me……now thats real!! I dated a white guy for two years, he was good looking, and Very well educated, with that being said, he did something to turn me off and it was a wrap after that (no he didn’t cheat if thats what you’re thinking; not that I know of anyway) but now I’m happily married to a sexy hard working black man that loves me, so it does’nt matter what color you are, I think chemistry is what really matters.

I like and agree when she said that if you love yourself you start having boundaries and you won’t let people hurt you. I JUST got this last week. I had to end two friendships. It doesn’t just goes for relationships, but for friendships as well. At the end of the day know your worth!

@ jules
i absolutely am feeling what you said. i was like huh? as a black woman why would she even have to address that she is open to black men, but i guess with the mentality of some black women today, nothing can be taken for granted.

I like when dumb people wants to act intelligent.
Spanish is not a race but a Nationality just like being an American or Canadian.
Spain is a country in Europe so therefore the Spanish are White Europeans.
The countries outside of Spain speaks Spanish because they were conquered by Spain.
You don’t referred to a Jamaican as English/British simply because they speak English.

Spanish people from Spain do get annoyed when Americans referred to their former slaves as Spanish. If these Dominicans/Puerto Ricans who love to called themselves Spanish goes to Spain,they will be corrected and put in their place by the Spanish.

Latino is not a race but if you want to be correct the Europeans such as Italians,French,Spanish,Portuguese are the real LATIN people.

Latin was a language spoken in Ancient Rome and still spoken at the VATICAN IN ROME,ITALY.

So anyone who speak any of the latin languages are Latinos.

Now back again to history lesson

The Island shared between HAITI and Dominican Rep was once one country named Haiti by the Natives before the Europeans came.

Christopher Columbus who was an Italian explorer accidentally discovered the Americas and his voyage was backed by the King and Queen of Spain.

Haiti which was one of his favorite island was name Hispaniola by Columbus.

Spain did occupied the Whole Island before the French so now you see? you didn’t know what you were talking about.

France,England,Spain were all fighting amongst one another over the new found richest in the Americas.

Haiti and Dominican Rep separated 22 years after the Haitian Revolution.

Most Spanish speakers in the Caribbean have a heavy influence of African descent but those in South America/Central America have more a heavy Native influence with of course with Europeans.You will find Blacks through out the American Continent.

Most Europeans find it shocking who Americans referred to as Latinos/Latinas.
In Europe ,Latin people are Southern Europeans such as Italians,French,Spanish,Portuguese etc…

Slavic people are the Polish,Russians, well Eastern Europeans

English is considered a Germanic language.

so Within Europe you have different Ethnic group.

Again Spain will never accept their former slaves who love to called themselves Spanish as Spanish. btw Spanish treats their former slaves badly in Spain,lol.

I know most Americans never traveled ,also the Education system here is designed to dumb people down but there’s no excuse with technology.

Lets not forget the invasion of the moors in Southern Europe.

Again LATIN means any of the Latin Languages AKA the Romance Languages.

Italian which is the mother of the Latin languages ,Spanish,French,Portuguese etc…
Which means that not just Spanish speakers are LATIN.
So that would make Haitians,Latin as well.

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